White Oleander
by desolate butterfly
Summary: [Team Sevencentric] Sakura has been acting differently after her first solo mission and Kakashi wants to know why. [Notice, Discontinued until I can find a way to make this not a giant cliche.]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, not me. The lyrics are from "Don't break my fall" by Oleander. This fic was partly inspired by Calendar's "Echoes" which is, among other things, a brilliant one-shot..

In this fic, Sasuke has already left and come back to Konoha from Sound, in the space of only one year which basically makes this AU. All three members of Team Seven are age 14 and a half for the purposes of this story.

Also, angst ahoy! Don't say I didn't warn you.

- DeB

--

What can I say?  
When every word you won't believe anyway  
No promise made  
Just means there's nothing wrong today

…

My hands are tied  
But I'm hanging on  
I'm hanging in

Sure do like the sound of it

--

The male contingents of Team Seven were worried. Not that they showed this in an obvious, hand-wringing, what-the-hell-is-going-on-shouting type of way.

Naruto, for example, showed his worry in the way that his spaced-out pondering expression had transformed from a somewhat goofy grin into a decisive frown that made the whisker lines on his cheeks stand out more. Also, Iruka-sensei had recently discovered that Naruto would only ask for _seconds_ of miso ramen on the nights he was treated to dinner, instead of his usual thirds. A drop of appetite for someone like Naruto was bound to be a bit disconcerting for those that knew him well.

Sasuke showed his worry the same way he showed every other emotion he'd ever had: that is, he sulked and brooded more then usual and tore up vast amounts of forest with potentially dangerous techniques that probably should have been supervised by more then just the disturbed squirrels and one grey-haired, sharingan-eyed jounin hiding in the trees.

Kakashi—as evidenced—showed his worry by hovering. He hovered over Sasuke while he vented his frustrations on the wildlife of Konoha, and Sasuke tolerated this because it was better then having ANBU hovering because of the strange chakra he was emitting. He hovered over Naruto while he trained and bought groceries and ran errands for Hokage-sama, and Naruto tolerated this because he really didn't notice.

But mostly, Kakashi hovered over Sakura.

Sakura, who had gone on her first solo C-level mission to a small village just outside of Iwagakure to pick up some medical supplies for Tsunade.

Sakura, who had come back to Konoha with a slight limp, one less kunai, and a tendency to stutter as much as Hyuuga Hinata.

Sakura, who refused to talk at all about the few days she was gone, except to say that she had completed the mission as asked.

Sakura, who now seemed unable to look her teammates or her sensei in the eyes.

Kakashi worried and hovered and debated going directly to Tsunade and asking her what the hell she'd done to his genin. He'd almost done it yesterday, after Sasuke had put out a hand to steady Sakura after she'd tripped on a root and she'd flinched. _Flinched._ From _Sasuke_.

His first thought had been that Sasuke's curse scar had acted up, even after all the complicated seals he and Tsunade had worked out, and he'd been scaring the shit out of Sakura by disregarding it again. But after an examination of Sasuke's response to the incident—he'd actually looked a bit hurt and definitely worried, not guilty and sulky as expected—Kakashi dismissed that idea.

Even Naruto had noticed that Sakura rarely touched any of them, even to give an exasperated punch or a well-deserved kick in the ass. The only time she'd voluntarily touched someone had been when she healed a long shallow cut across Kakashi's palm after Sasuke had got a good shot in, and even then Kakashi could feel her trembling the entire time she held his wrist.

At the time, he'd thought she was nervous about showing off her newly learned deep chakra healing skills to her sensei. Now he was not so sure.

Kakashi hovered as his three students made their way into the Ichiraku for lunch. As they approached the stand, two chuunin emerged from behind the curtain and stumbled out into the street. They were obviously drunk, despite the early hour of the day, and one of them whistled at Sakura as she approached.

"What a cutie," said one as he swayed and held onto his friend for support.

"Too small," sniffed the other. "I like'em with breasts, Yanno."

Naruto's fists clenched and Kakashi mentally counted down the seconds to the impending explosion.

"Bet she has reeeeeeal nice bresh—breasts, Mihao. Hey cutie, why don't you ditch those losers and come home wif—with us."

Three…two…one…

"LOSERS!" Naruto shrieked, trembling with rage. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO THE LOSERS ARE YOU…YOU _PERVERTS_."

"Idiot," Sasuke drawled, looking bored as usual. "You're puncturing my eardrums. Be quieter."

"But Sasuke these guys insulted us. And they were hitting on Sakura-chan!"

"They're drunk."

"So!"

"So shut up and let's eat."

The three moved as if to go around the two chuunin, but a hand stopped their progress. The one who had whistled was no longer propped up on his teammate, but lurching slowly towards the group of gennin.

"Don' go," he slurred. "I wass't finished yet."

"Unless you share some traits with Fuzzy Eyebrows, you'd better get the hell out of my way," Naruto warned, sounding annoyed.

The chuunin blinked at that, but only focused his attention once more on Sakura, leering blurrily at her as he leaned over and made a weak grab at her hand.

"C'mon baby…let's have fun."

Kakashi waited for Sakura to take a furious swing at the face in front of her, but it never came. Instead, Sakura seemed to fold into herself. Her face paled and she took a shaky step back.

Sasuke's bored look sharpened into one of concern, and he was suddenly in front of Sakura bending the wrist that had grabbed for her backwards until an audible snap was heard. The chuunin gasped in pain and flew back into the arms of his companion.

"Leave," Sasuke said, his voice unbearably flat.

The non-injured (and probably slightly less drunk) chuunin looked like he wanted to argue, but by that time Kakashi had stopped lurking and started looming in a way that could only be described as frightening.

The two chuunin scrambled out of sight as fast as they could go while still leaning on each other.

"I'll have to remember to mention to Tsunade that some of her chuunins have obviously too much money and time on their hands if they can afford to get that drunk in the middle of the day," Kakashi said aloud, surprising everyone except Sasuke, who had spotted his teacher tailing them ever since they'd met up that morning for training.

"Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei, are you here for ramen too?" Naruto asked, his previous indignant fury already forgotten. "Will you treat us? We've been practicing really hard today! Even Sasuke-bastard, but I practiced harder of course. He only beat me because I was distracted by that stupid squirrel…"

"Actually, I have to get home," Sakura blurted out, "I forgot that I was supposed to help my mom around the house today. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

And with that, she was off down the street, her open-toed boots raising clouds of dust behind her as she ran. Naruto looked confused for the space and three seconds, then he scowled.

"Those bastard perverts scared her off." He turned and pointed accusingly at Sasuke. "You obviously should have done more then break that one guy's hand."

"Stupid. She's been like that for a while now. It wasn't just those idiots that have her riled."

Naruto and Sasuke shared a look that Kakashi couldn't quite decipher.

"You're right. Ever since she came back from that mission in Rock Country…I wonder what happened."

"She hasn't told either of you?" Kakashi interrupted.

"Nope, not even when I pestered her. Or when Sasuke _showed some interest_. It was weird."

"She hasn't told Ino anything either," Sasuke volunteered, making both Kakashi and Naruto stare at him in surprise.

"What? She brings me lunches on Thursdays. She was worried about Sakura too. Apparently, we aren't the only ones who've noticed her strange behavior."

Kakashi nodded and said, "On second thought, I have to go talk to the Hokage about something. I'll take a rain check on dinner though."

He heard Naruto whine something about cheapskate sensei's who will do anything to avoid treating their students before using a jutsu to quicken his feet and lightly dashing away towards the Hokage's tower.

Something had happened on that mission to Sakura and he intended to find out what it was.

--

Sakura wandered by the bridge that led to the medical center, remembering the time she had met Lee there—pale and despondent on his crutches—and offered him the best flowers from Ino's shop. Then, she had caught him as he fell and slung a green-clad arm across her shoulders, bearing his weight easily.

Now the thought of having a heavy limb strung over her back made her shiver and feel slightly sick to her stomach.

Sakura wasn't stupid.

She knew that something was wrong with her, and that she really really needed to talk to someone about it.

She also knew that she was absolutely _not_ going to talk to _anyone_, least of all the people she trusted most.

I should have said no when she asked me, Sakura thought. She _could_ have said no. She could have said she wasn't ready, that she couldn't handle it, that Tsunade should find someone else…

But that was the problem. There was no one else. At least, no one that Sakura would have wanted to see go in her place.

She remembered the pink slash of Tsunade's mouth as she had handed over the scroll containing the mission details only six days ago.

--

"It's an A-class mission. Normally, I would give these things to ANBU to take care of, but no one currently on the squad can hold a genjutsu long enough to get close to this guy."

Sakura opened the scroll, staring at the picture stapled to the top and the information outlined below it.

"Tsutori Miyazaki, missing nin from Amegakure, specializes in waterjutsu and tachi weapons style…Miyazaki the serial killer?"

"Miyazaki the cannibal," Tsunade confirmed. "And child molester. The Kaminarikage has been trying to recapture this guy for months. Hunternins finally spotted him outside of Hidden Rock but it appears he's holed up in a virtual fortress with highly paid guards protecting him. None of the nins were able to break through the defensive shield to get to Miyazaki."

"What does this have to do with me?" Sakura asked, feeling a prickle of nervousness on the back of her neck.

"Konoha has been given a rather large commission to send an assassin to deal with Miyazaki. The man himself is not particularly strong, but the sheer mass of people he's bought off to work for him make infiltration difficult. I've already lost two spies to his guards."

Tsunade clasped her hands in front of her and stared hard at Sakura, almost daring her to comment. Sakura's hands tightened on the scroll she held and remained silent.

"That's why," Tsunade continued, "I though of a plan to get into Miyazaki's fortress. The three spies that made it back reported some of Miyazaki's activities to me. It seems that every third day Miyazaki purchases the services of a child prostitute. The arrangement is made through a well-hidden brothel in Iwagakure. A servant is sent to the brothel in order to choose a suitable girl for the night and payment is made on the spot. Typically, the prostitute is sent back the next day with the same servant as an escort, however the odd time the girl does not return. The spies think this means that Miyazaki has killed them, as a higher price is always listed for the next girl."

Sakura felt something cold wash over her. She swallowed thickly.

"You…you want me to pretend to be a prostitute in order to get close to Miyazaki."

Tsunade nodded. "You're young enough that you would appeal to someone like Miyazaki. And you know how to kill in a way that suggests a natural death. As long as the guards think that Miyazaki had a heart attack in a fit of…exuberance, you should be able to get away without having to fight them. I could send Yamanako-san or Ten-Ten, but neither of them have the subtlety necessary to leave the compound without a battle taking place."

Here, Tsunade paused for a minute, letting Sakura think about Ino and Ten-Ten in such a situation. She wondered why the Hokage hadn't mentioned Hinata as an option, for the gentle-fist technique could certainly be disguised as a natural death if necessary, but the Hyuuga clan would probably have a lot of things to say about Hinata taking on such a mission. There was no one who could say that Tsunade didn't know politics.

"Sakura," Tsunade said suddenly, interrupting her inner analyzing, "you don't have to do this. I cannot force you to take this mission. Your ranking suggests that this is too much to expect of you at this time. I would understand if you said no."

And Tsunade would understand. But she would do so in a way that let Sakura know that she was disappointed in her, that she wished that her apprentice could surpass her in the way that Jiraiya's apprentice had surpassed him, and the way Orochimaru's chosen vessel had surpassed him. In some ways, Sakura always knew that Tsunade felt she had drawn the short straw in making Sakura her apprentice. It seemed like no matter what she did Naruto and Sasuke would always be walking ahead of her in the distance.

And if she said no, would Tsunade then refuse the Kaminarikage's commission? Relations had been strained between the Hidden Village of Rain and the Hidden Village of Leaf ever since that incident in Tea Country. Would refusing such a mission push Konoha into war again?

No, Tsunade couldn't refuse the mission. Too much was at stake. And if Sakura refused that would make Ino the next best choice…

"I'll take the mission," Sakura heard herself say, as if from far away.

Tsunade looked pained for a split second before her professional "stone-face" snapped back into place.

"Good," she said. "Encode that scroll with a genjutsu so that you're the only one who can read it. You'll leave tomorrow with the owner of the brothel and a disguised chuunin as your escort. The owner's agreed to cooperate with us in exchange for a lighter jail sentence for human trafficking and the chuunin is there to watch him, so just concentrate on Miyazaki."

Sakura wondered, briefly, who the chuunin might be, but quickly decided that it would be no one she knew. Emotions and attachments might make this already dangerous assignment even more so.

"Be in this office by seven o'clock tomorrow," the Hokage continued, "so you can get into the proper disguise. Until then, tell no one of your mission and do whatever you need to do in order to prepare yourself."

Sakura nodded and rolled up the scroll bearing Miyazaki's smirking face before bowing quickly to the Hokage and leaving the room.

After she closed the door, she only made it a little ways down the hallway before hearing the telltale smash of glass and liquid hitting the wall, indicating that Tsunade had thrown her sake bottle.

_-- _

Sakura sighed and tossed a small twig over the side of the bridge and into the river, watching it struggle against the current before sliding completely underneath the water.

'_Prepare yourself,'_ Tsunade had said. And Sakura had known that Tsunade had been urging her to find some Konoha boy—perhaps Lee, perhaps Sasuke, perhaps even Naruto—and lose her cumbersome virginity before the next day. To save whatever illusions about 'first times' she'd ever had before they were destroyed.

She'd thought about it.

Her first kiss had already been gotten out of the way. Naruto had seen to that on the same night they had finally brought Sasuke back to Konoha and a bottle of sake, which had originally been applied to make sure that Sasuke didn't run away again, made sure of her second kiss just a few seconds after her first.

The headache the next day had been worth it, just to see Sasuke blush all the way through Kakashi-sensei's lecture on underage drinking.

But everything else…Sakura had wanted to keep her options open until she was absolutely sure what, or who, she wanted.

And then that plan was destroyed.

She could've said no. She could've…

There was no other option. She'd _had_ to take the mission. And she had completed it well. She'd won.

So why did it feel so much like she'd lost instead?

Breaking from her trance, Sakura turned and began the long walk home. It wouldn't do for Naruto or Sasuke to catch her moping about after telling them she was going to help her mother. They were already suspecting that there was something she was keeping from them.

Under no circumstances were they to ever learn what she had done. What she had agreed to.

What she had become.

--

A/N: Well…that's certainly the beginning of _something_. Please tell me if you think I'm bordering on the clichéd or the angst is laid on too thick and such. I love constructive criticism. I am rather new to the Naruto fandom, so it always helps to be pointed in the right direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, not me. Song lyrics by Sarah McLachlan.

Less team seven-ness in this part, but it's made for with 90 more Kakashi (I hope).

Have fun!

- DeB

--

What ravages of spirit  
Conjured this temptuous rage  
Created you a monster  
Broken by the rules of love?  
And fate has led you through it

You do what you have to do…

--

Tsunade was not amused when Kakashi showed up at the balcony-side window of the Tower. Not that she had been gleeful as a schoolgirl before his arrival, but a fresh bottle of sake and a good game of dice with Shizune had been working its way into getting her to that state.

And now Kakashi had to ruin it by sliding through the window with nary an Icha-Icha book in sight.

"Yo."

"Kakashi…I don't remember you having an appointment."

"I didn't know I needed one to see you now." His one eye scanned the half-empty bottle and the dice cup. "In any case, it doesn't seem like you were particularly busy."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"I'm winning."

"Then you should quit while you're ahead."

"Quitters never prosper."

"I thought that was cheaters."

"Yeah well, them too. Are you _sure_ you don't want to make an appointment?"

Tsunade could feel the exact moment when Kakashi's change from something mildly threatening to ohmyfuckcouldkillyouSOHARD and from the tense way Shizune was sitting, she could probably feel it as well. She subtly curled her right pointer finger into her thigh and flicked the thumb outwards in the silent pidgin speak they had refined in the field for just such situations.

'_Leave immediate area, stay in shouting distance, medium alert,'_ said Tsunade's fingers.

'_ANBU, alert stage three?'_ Shizune questioned with her wrist movement and a slight lean to the side as she stood from her chair and began to excuse herself from the room.

'_No ANBU. Stage three codeword usual, not likely.'_

Shizune bowed her assent and waved to Kakashi as she left the room. His non-sharingan eye followed her movements, but his lifted hand displayed no signal that he had caught the silent conversation. Either he did not notice, or he did notice and didn't care.

After Shizune left, Tsunade grabbed her sake cup and gestured with it towards the seat across from her that Shizune had vacated.

"If you insist on talking at me, then sit down. You're too damned tall and I don't feel like getting a crick in the neck."

Kakashi eyed the chair for a second before sitting down. The hesitance was disturbing, but the fact that he actually sat eased Tsunade's mind. Much harder to defend or attack while in a sitting position. Apparently he didn't know enough yet to be _really_ upset at her.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked, taking a sip of her sake and watching Kakashi's hand movements over the rim of the cup.

Loose fingers, curled inwards, no weapons, no seals.

"I think you know."

"Jiraiya isn't scheduled back for another month yet, so you can stop bugging me about the next Icha Icha installment."

Fingers tensing, still no weapons, no seals.

"Sakura." The name came clipped and cold out of his mouth.

"What about her?"

"She's been acting strangely. You know why." Damn. That was _almost_ accusing. If only she could tell what his expression was. That stupid mask.

"I might," Tsunade hedged. "Strangely, how?"

Fingers tensing, clenched fists now, no weapons, no seals.

"She's more nervous now. Hyper-sensitive to her surroundings. Avoids eye contact. Avoids skin contact. Hesitates during confrontation."

Tsunade frowned, folding her hands in front of her and leaning forward. The hypersensitivity was manageable, even an asset if it didn't lead to exhaustion. Eye contact was no big deal. But hesitating was never a good thing. Hesitation got ninjas killed.

"Do you think this sudden change will affect her performance on missions?"

"I'm not certain." She could practically hear Kakashi's frown, even if she couldn't see it. "Her medical skills have not faltered, but we have not done any full combat training since she came back from her mission. I would like to believe that in a real situation she would be able to pull it together, but…"

"But your team has a habit of dragging personal issues into public battles," Tsunade finished for him. "That is unfortunately true. Have Naruto and Sasuke also noticed this change in Sakura's behavior?"

"Yes."

"And they are unable to get an explanation from her?"

"No. Neither was I."

"That is surprising, considering how open she usually is when something is bothering her." Then again, she couldn't be hiding her current affliction too well if both Sasuke and Naruto noticed something.

"Maybe if you could enlighten me as to what exactly occurred while she was away…"

"I can't do that, Kakashi."

Tsunade watched his one eye narrow and shivered. She only had a few good jounin left to fight for Konoha. It wouldn't due to have this one pissed off at her at so crucial a time, especially when he was supposed to be one of her more stable seniors and up for a position within ANBU once more as soon as things calmed down a bit with team seven.

"Why can't you?" The questioned was edged as sharply as any kunai.

Tsunade seethed at the impudence. Really. Shouldn't the Hokage garner more respect and deference then this? Did she really have to stand for being menaced in her own office?

"Well for one thing, I can't tell you because _I don't know what's wrong with her either_--"

"You know _something_," Kakashi interrupted. She couldn't tell if that was annoyance or frustration in his voice.

"—And for another thing, what I _do_ know is classified information."

"I have S-level clearance."

"And that means jack shit unless Sakura feels like telling you the details and…Kakashi sit back down!"

"Dammit Tsunade, she's _my_ student." A fist crashed onto her desk and…oooh, crap. That was an expensively varnished antique Kakashi just cracked and she'd be damned if it wasn't going to come directly out of his pay.

"She stopped being _your student_ when she begged _me_ to train her as a medic-nin. You don't get to have jurisdiction over this Kakashi. You made your choices already and Sakura's made hers and _you can't change that_."

Tsunade watched the grey-haired nin carefully, especially the hand which had previously been clenched into a fist on her desk and was now hanging loose at his side. Out in the hallway there was a soft click sound which meant that Shizune had gotten antsy and alerted ANBU against her wishes dammit…

"Hokage-sama I…"

Tsunade turned her attention back to Kakashi, who seemed to wilt where he stood.

"You're right." His head bowed. "I lost any control I had over Sakura when I decided to concentrate on Sasuke's recovery and reinstitution. It's none of my business what missions you choose for her, or how you train her."

"…Kakashi…"

"I scolded Iruka for that once, you know? Acting like they were still his students that he could shelter and protect. And now I'm just the same. Gai must be rubbing off on me more then I thought."

Tsunade sighed and rested her chin on her hand. A mopey jounin was only slightly less dangerous then an irritated jounin. How to fix this…

"Listen, I'm not able to tell you anything specific. Those records _are_ classified and furthermore, I'm not clear on anything specific that happened anyway."

"Hokage-sama, I apologize…"

"Shut-up." God that _damned mask_. She didn't have a clue what he was thinking—_hmph, that's the point_—behind that damned thing. Would he take it off if she ordered it? Could she order it without making him hate her more? Too risky. Better not.

Tsunade closed her eyes and prepared herself.

"The mission…was not a pleasant one. Even if it was completed well…there would be some damage taken. I didn't want it to be her, but she really was my only choice. Sacrifice is the way of the ninja. You know this better then anyone. And she knew it too."

And crap, now she was talking to his back. Hatake Kakashi was the only person she knew—_okay besides Naruto_—who had the gall to leave her office without being officially dismissed or carried out by ANBU.

He was almost to the door and _something_ more needed to be said, didn't it? Something that indicated that she really did want to help, that it was seriously bothering her that she couldn't, that she really did care about these kids dammit but this wasn't about that and—

"I don't regret it, Kakashi."

He paused, hand on the doorknob, listening.

"Do you understand? _I can't regret it._ If it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else's kid. But that's the job we signed up for, right? That's the price we agreed to pay. And the kids…they understand that too." _Even if they can't forgive us for it._

Kakashi was silent for a few moments, his shoulders slumped, the fringe of his hair brushing the door in front of him. Then he straightened.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about your desk."

She relaxed enough to smile slightly. That tone had not been apologetic at all.

"Don't be," she said. "I'm just glad you're generous enough to buy me a new one."

"I am?"

"Oh yeah." She grinned. "A real expensive one. With paper weights, even."

"Hmph. Well, I guess it can't be helped."

Kakashi shrugged loosely as a made his way out the door and down the hall, completely ignoring the clustered groups of ANBU guards desperately trying to make themselves look less suspicious. It probably wasn't worth it.

After a few moments Shizune scooted her way through the door again, TonTon at her heels.

"Tsunade-sama…are you okay?"

"I'm surrounded by brats."

--

Sakura stood under the shower and watched the water trickle down between her breasts. It didn't look so bad now, really. The bruises were faded, and not so finger or mouth-shaped. She could almost pretend they came from the hit Sasuke had pulled at the last minute during taijutsu practice one the day before she left for Rock country.

Another few days and she could go back to wearing the sleeveless top she usually wore without arousing Naruto's curiosity. The only problem was that her kunai holsters, which she had kept strapped to both arms, hidden underneath her sleeves, would be clearly visible. One of them was sure to ask why she felt like wearing them all the time now instead of just on missions.

I suppose I could lie, she thought to herself, but I'm really sick of doing that. Maybe I should pull a Sasuke and tell them it's none of their business…

Heh. Like _that_ wouldn't raise some questions on its own.

Gingerly, Sakura circled a finger around one of the darker weals marking her collarbone. Was this kind of…marking…typical of sexual encounters? Hard, and deep so that the trails of teeth and tongue stayed present on the skin for days? If she had managed to get her hands on one of Kakashi-sensei's naughty books, would they have prepared her?

Or were the marks just the prerogative of creepy fucks like Miyazaki who wore black gloves over his creepy, meaty hands the entire time he was touching—

Okay, she _really_ had to stop doing that.

"Sakura!"

Her mother's voice sounded more exasperated then worried, but Sakura moderated her voice to be as cheerful as possible, just in case.

"What is it mom?" she called, over the rush of the water. "I'm taking a shower."

"I know." Her mother's voice was now obscenely close to the door, and Sakura was suddenly terrified that she'd forgotten to lock the door. "Is there a reason why you suddenly felt the need to use up all the hot water? I _was_ going to wash some clothes…"

"Sorry Mom," Sakura stuttered, twisting the water off immediately.

'_Don't come in, don't come in, don't come in.'_

"I was just finishing anyway."

There was a pause in which Sakura crouched in the bottom of the shower, shivering and trying to control the rapid pulse in her throat and temples. She could here her mother breathing just outside the door.

'_Don't come in, don't come in, don't come in.'_

"Dinner will be ready soon." Footsteps, muffled by tatami, faded away down the hall. Sakura kneeled where she was until she couldn't hear them anymore.

Then she stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her hair, slipped into a light yukata, and left the bathroom without once looking in the mirror.

--

A/N: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. Especially those who gave me some tips on how to improve this story. I really appreciate it.

It was really difficult to approach how to do Kakashi in this section, because he's normally so laid back and such. But I really do think he'd be strongly effected by this (and he's more perceptive then Naruto and Sasuke, so he has a bit of a clue as to what is going on) and wouldn't like being kept in the dark.

And about the ranking of genin for Sakura, I did mention that for the purposes of this story, it took considerably less then 2 and a bit years for Naruto to convince Sasuke to come home (i.e. stop being a retard), so they're all younger then they would usually be post time-skip. I'm assuming, at the time this fic takes place, that none of them have taken a second chuunin exam, and likely won't until Kakashi is satisfied with their team dynamic once more. Make sense?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, not me. Also Eddie Izzard reference if you can spot it!

- DeB

--

The problem with trying to gather information in a shinobi village was that everyone knew how to keep secrets. Gossip was one thing, and jounin were usually the worst offenders, for all their supposed maturity. Kakashi could count about five different rumours currently circling about who he was bedding. The latest odds in the betting pool (which was Anko's idea) had him paired with the new young member of ANBU squad, whose name Kakashi didn't even know, although there were quite a few supporters for the idea that he was currently involved in a sordid three-way with Umino Iruka and Maito Gai. Kakashi did not deny the rumours mainly because they amused him, but also because they kept potential matchmakers off his back. And because he had a cut in Anko's betting pool of about five percent.

But when it came to real information, like who had gone where and did what on their missions, the shinobi of Konoha knew how to button up tight as clams. So Kakashi knew he was taking a gamble by asking Iruka about the details of Sakura's last mission.

"You're up early," Iruka had grumbled as the masked-jounin landed on the window sill of the mission room. "And don't you ever use the door?"

"Too civilian," Kakashi replied. "And I was supposed to meet my team by the training grounds two hours ago, so I'd say I'm right on time."

Iruka sighed and shook his head. "What do you want, Kakashi? And don't tell me you're here to boost the betting pool odds. Even Anko is pulling for that Makino girl and Gai's out in the field this week."

"So _that's_ her name. Makino…well, at least she sounds cute. And Iruka, I didn't know you were also in the betting pool?"

"God knows a teacher's salary doesn't pay nearly enough," Iruka replied. "And I don't have time to weed gardens for extra cash. Now, what do you want Kakashi? I have work to do."

Kakashi stroked his chin through his mask. "Well, you see…I need to read the mission report for Haruno Sakura's last mission."

"All mission reports are classified," Iruka said, frowning. "You _know_ that, Kakashi. And besides which, even if I wanted to help you I couldn't."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Did Hokage-sama request that the mission report be destroyed?"

Iruka suddenly looked uncomfortable. His hand came up to scratch along the scar line across his nose, a nervous habit he'd yet to break.

"No…that's the thing: there was no mission report."

"What?"

"Nothing was ever handed in to me," Iruka stated. "As far as my files show, Sakura-kun's last mission was with Team Seven, successfully completed two weeks ago."

Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. It was obvious that no information would be forthcoming from this corner.

"Dammit."

"Why do you need the information anyway," Iruka asked, curious. "Did something happen on Sakura-kun's mission? I was under the impression that it was just a routine med supplies pick-up. That's why I didn't question the lack of mission report."

"I don't really know," Kakashi sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "But something is going on with her and whatever it is, it's damaging the effectiveness of the team."

"Ah, so this is about team effectiveness," Iruka asked, frost in his voice. "You know, these are human beings we're talking about, not just gears in some machine. They're still kids."

"They're shinobi too," Kakashi stated, and Iruka flinched at the hardness in his voice. "We can't forget that."

The two men stood in awkward silence for a while before Kakashi turned to leave.

"Sorry, I couldn't help," Iruka offered just as the other man got to the door, sounding a bit guilty.

Kakashi's expression softened behind the mask, and he tossed his hand up in a conciliatory gesture without turning around.

"S'okay. But Iruka?"

"Yeah?"

"I…do care about them. Really."

And with that, Kakashi was out the door and down the street. Iruka watched him go with a strange half-smile gracing his face.

"I know," he said quietly to the empty room.

--

"That lazy pervert!" Naruto ranted to no one in particular. His arms flailed in exasperation and he barely missed socking a bored-looking Uchiha Sasuke in the jaw. The dark-haired nin glared at his team mate and inched a bit to the right to avoid any moving orange-clad limbs, while trying to look like moving at all had been entirely his own idea.

Naruto paid no attention to this, as he was too busy yelling insults at the trees surrounding them, hoping that one of them contained a certain grey-haired jounin.

"Three hours late! I could have had another bowl of ramen for breakfast," Naruto mourned, rubbing his stomach wistfully. "And I'll bet Kakashi-sensei will give us another lame excuse like _'oh, Naruto I wanted to be on time but I had to poke a badger with a spoon'_ or _'you'll have to excuse my lateness, there was an elephant in my closet'_ or something stupid like that. Well I'm not going to take it anymore! As soon as he shows up here, let's beat his lazy ass down! You in, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm…" The pink-haired kunoichi sat apart from the two boys of her team, slowly winding a blade of grass around her finger. From under his lashes, Sasuke watched his female team mate as the tip of digit closed off by the green tourniquet went from a rosy peach colour, to white, to a faint blue.

Sasuke frowned and took a step towards her.

"Sakura."

The blade of grass broke apart as the girl started and looked up to see both Naruto and Sasuke watching her. Blushing at the scrutiny, Sakura brushed the scraps of grass from her lap and got to her feet.

"Well," she said, smiling brightly, "since we don't know when Kakashi-sensei will turn up, why don't we start training basic stuff until he gets here?"

Sasuke looked at her suspiciously for a moment, but eventually nodded his approval of her plan. Naruto, as expected, was a bit more reluctant.

"Aw, Sakura-chan we don't need to practice basic training. I wanted to try out this new technique that Ero-senin showed me yesterday! It was sooooo cool."

"No one wants to see your modified perverted jutsus, moron," Sasuke stated flatly.

"Ha, you just don't want Sakura-chan to see you get a nosebleed and faint," Naruto accused, pointing a finger in Sasuke's direction. "Besides, it's not a perverted jutsu at all."

Sasuke smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets. "If that's true," he said, "then you won't mind sparring with Sakura first instead of me."

"Fine!"

"W-wait a minute," Sakura protested, not sure if she felt up to sparring with anyone just yet. "Why me first?"

"Because you need the practice."

"Oh that's nice," Naruto hissed, seeing the way Sakura's face fell at Sasuke's blunt words. "Way to be sensitive, asshole."

"Hn."

Naruto turned to his female team mate and gave her a big smile and a wink.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," he boasted. "I'll go easy on you!"

A hint of anger sparked in Sakura's eyes. Naruto gulped and took a step back as she raised a trembling fist and lowered her brows threateningly.

"Who's going easy on _who?_" she screeched, aiming a punch at his head, which Naruto ducked accordingly.

Sasuke watched with thinly concealed amusement as the orange-clad ninja scrambled out of the path of Sakura's next punch, which splintered the wood of the tree he had been pressed against. She had gotten faster since their last mission. It would be an interesting fight.

Naruto immediately leapt out of range, disappearing into the dense foliage surrounding them. Sasuke watched Sakura make the forms for a wide-spread genjutsu and waited for a few seconds. Above them, a familiar yelp was heard and one-hundred and forty pounds of blond shinobi suddenly tumbled to the ground at Sakura's feet.

"Ow…" the figure groaned, rolling over a bit to lie on his back. "Sakura-chan, I think I broke my arm."

"Serves you right," the pink-haired girl said, but kneeled down beside the sulking heap that was Naruto anyway. Before her hand could reach out to examine the swelling appendage, she heard a slight whistle to her left and darted to the side, barely escaping the kunai aimed at her back.

The Naruto in front of her disappeared in a cloud of white smoke and Sakura sent a spray of shuriken into the bushes, trying to force the real Naruto out of hiding. Unfortunately, all she got was a barrage of clones.

Sakura took care of them quickly, trying to focus her attention on finding Naruto's unique chakra-pattern. Once she got a hold on the direction, Sakura drew a kunai out of her pack and waited.

'_Time to pull out the big guns.'_

As expected, a pair of shuriken whipped toward her from behind. Her timing perfect, Sakura let the blade graze her just enough to cut through the strap on her shoulder and draw a bead of blood across her skin and slice a neat line in the fabric of her skirt. Now showing quite a bit of thigh and shoulder, Sakura let herself wince openly and sink to one knee, one hand going to her skirt as if keeping it from falling open completely.

"Sakura-chan!" A blond head suddenly poked out of the bushes and Naruto showed himself, concern and curiosity fighting for dominance in his expression.

Sakura shifted her grip on the kunai and started a count-down in her head. She slumped forward a bit, showing more of her bare and bloodied shoulder and smiled inwardly as Naruto shifted a bit closer.

"You idiot," she seethed, "this was a new outfit!"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a fast-moving kunai suddenly piercing through his jacket, pinning him to the ground. Unfortunately, Sakura found out a second later that she had really pinned a log, not her team mate.

'_Shit. A replacement technique.'_

"Nice try Sakura-chan," Naruto called, closing in rapidly from above her. His hands formed a series of seals she didn't recognize. Out on the peripheral of her vision she could see Sasuke activate the sharingan.

Her attention snapped back to Naruto as he suddenly shouted and plucked a strand of hair from his head. Sakura watched in amazement as the hair lengthened and hardened into a long glinting needle. Naruto shouted something else and the one needle multiplied into twenty, then fifty, then hundreds of sharpened senbon hurtling towards her at great speed.

Sakura tensed, preparing to dodge when another of Naruto's clones appeared behind her and grasped her shoulders, holding her in place. Sakura readied an elbow to ram into the clones' throat but in her twisting to land the blow, she felt a brush of fingers against her hip. She froze, a barrage of unwanted memories trapping her as effectively as any genjutsu.

_--_

_Sakura tried to keep her face perfectly blank as gloved, meaty fingers trailed down her sternum, circling her navel before dipping ever so slightly past the waistband of her skirt. The man who hovered over her smiled and licked his thin lips. His breath stank of blood and something else Sakura couldn't describe._

"_She's certainly more fit then the last one you brought me, Katsuichi,' the man crooned. "But then, Hana-chan has been getting awful thin since she won't eat her dinner."_

_Both Sakura and Miyazaki looked to the corner, where a young girl huddled in the corner, her white kimono stained with what looked like blood and urine. Her tiny socked feet were chained together in a hobble. Sakura shuddered and let a bit of her revulsion show._

_Miyazaki chuckled as the girl in the corner shifted at the acknowledgment and his grip on Sakura's waist suddenly turned hard and punishing._

"_Why don't you two get to know each other a little better while I go discuss prices with Katsuichi here, and when I come back we'll play a game before dinner. Oh, and Hana-chan…"_

_The girl in the corner seemed to fold in on herself, and an animalistic whine escaped her bloodless lips. Sakura didn't want to know what could make a human being sound like that._

"_If you don't eat tonight it will go very badly for you." Miyazaki's manic grin was the last thing she saw as he pushed her into the room and locked it behind him. _

_Sakura smoothed her shirt down from where Miyazaki's hands had rucked it up around her breasts and slowly walked towards the girl in the corner. Healing her would be too suspicious, but Sakura could at least help her into a more comfortable position. Lying that way with her feet like that couldn't be comfortable._

_As Sakura approached the girl, she discovered that the strange keening sound was actually made up of constantly mumbled words. She reached out a hesitant hand._

"_Hana-chan?"_

"…_ohnonononoohnoohgetoutgetoutgetoutnonoooo…"_

_--_

"Sakura snap out of it!"

The pink-haired kunoichi blinked to discover that her position seemed to have changed. Naruto's clone was no longer holding her from behind, and Sasuke's hands were closed around her shoulders in a bruising grip as he shook her. She stared dazedly at the blue field of his shirt before registering the rasp of his voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

Sharingan-red eyes glared at her for a few moments before pale lids closed them and Sasuke slowly slipped to her knees in front of her. Mystified, Sakura grasped at his shirt before seeing the ends of several senbon protruding from Sasuke's back and shoulders. Her eyes widened.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Fuck," Naruto said, rushing over to support Sasuke so that he didn't collapse on his back and push the wickedly glinting needles even deeper into his body. "Fuck, why didn't you dodge?"

Sakura gaped at him. Her stomach roiled suddenly, and she fought not to stumble off to the bushes to retch.

"I…Sasuke-kun I…"

"Heal now, talk later," Naruto ordered, steadying Sasuke on his hands and knees.

The sharpness in his voice seemed to snap Sakura out of her horrified paralysis and she immediately set to work pulling out the bloody senbon and sending chakra into the wounds, tracing their pathways and knitting back together muscle tissue and skin. Naruto was strangely silent while she worked, passing her gauze and bandages from her kit when she asked for them, slicing Sasuke's shirt open where she indicated.

After the last needle slid out of Sasuke's shoulder and the wound was probed with chakra and then bandaged, Sasuke's eyes opened again, this time back to their usual black irises. He stood up cautiously and flexed his arms, testing his range of motion. The bandages restricted him a bit, but Sakura was an excellent medic-nin. His back was not even sore and he doubted he'd have scars to show.

"You okay bastard," Naruto asked, sounding a bit guilty. It was his needles, after all, that had pierced Sasuke's skin.

But the other boy didn't even acknowledge Naruto's inquiry. Instead, he turned to Sakura.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, and Sakura winced. His voice only sounded that flat when he was absolutely furious.

"Sasuke-kun I'm sorry—"

"I don't want you to apologize. I'm not even hurt. _You_ could have been killed, freezing like that Sakura. Those needles were coming at your _throat _and Naruto doesn't have nearly the control that Haku-kid had."

Sasuke ignored Naruto indignant shout at that, and took a step towards Sakura, trying to get her to meet his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" he repeated.

"Nothing," Sakura stammered, looking away. "I was just distracted and I made a mistake."

"That's crap Sakura-chan," Naruto said, frowning. "You were about to smash my clone and get out of there, I felt it. Why did you just stop?"

"I don't know."

Sasuke shook his head. "You're lying. Why are you lying to us?"

"I'm not _lying,_" Sakura cried, "I don't know why I froze and I'm _sorry_ and it won't happen again, okay?"

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists, his knuckles turning as white as the bandages gracing his back and shoulders. He scowled.

"Fine. You aren't going to tell me. If I leave, would you tell Naruto?"

"What? Sasuke-kun, there's nothing to tell—"

"So you don't trust either of us. Would you trust Kakashi enough to tell? Or Ino?"

Sakura's jaw dropped at the thinly veiled hurt in Sasuke's voice. Her throat closed on her for a couple of second and she had to swallow thickly a few times before she could get her voice to work again.

"That's not it," she choked out, giving a pleading look to Naruto over Sasuke's shoulder. The other boy just frowned at her. "It's not about trusting you. Can't I keep some things to myself?"

"Not if it's hurting you Sakura-chan," Naruto responded, softly.

Sasuke nodded in agreement and Sakura bared her teeth, feeling cornered.

"We're team mates," Sasuke continued, disappointment showing in his eyes, "but if you can't trust us enough to talk to us…"

That was it. That was the last straw.

A malicious laugh rasped from between Sakura's lips and she smiled painfully.

"Oh, look who's talking about trust. Tell me Sasuke-kun, when did you ever trust us enough to tell us about Itachi? Or talk to _anyone_ about Orochimaru's seal? Oh, that's right. _Never. _So don't you dare lecture _me_ about trust."

Sasuke had turned pale at the mention of Itachi and Naruto's eyes had widened in amazement as Sakura had, for the first time, been intentionally cruel. To _Sasuke_.

"S-Sakura-chan," he gasped, and the pink-haired girl's lips quivered as if she wanted to somehow stuff the words back into her mouth. But it was already too late.

"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered, and then she took a shaky step back, turned on her heel and ran.

"Sakura-chan!"

Naruto yelled after her, wanting to follow but unwilling to leave Sasuke alone when he was still bone-white and rooted to the spot, his mouth partially open in shock. Naruto sighed and place a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, watching the muscles tense and waiting for the inevitable shrug as Sasuke pulled away.

"She didn't mean it," he offered.

Sasuke's eyes watched Sakura's back vanish into the darkness of the forest, the little bits of shadow swallowing her running form until there was nothing left.

"Yeah," he replied, "she did."

--

AN: You would not _believe_ how much trouble I had writing this chapter. Stupid fight scene kicked my ass in all kinds of un-fun ways. And I can't write Kakashi ;;

Anyway, thanks for sticking with the story and all the lovely reviews. You guys make the writer's block headaches worth it. thumbs up


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